Enclosed gravure fountain



Dec. 18, 1951 H. w. FAEBER ENCLOSED GRAVURE FOUNTAIN kFiled July 28, 194

VENT-0Q. HARRY W. EBm

4/! FIG. 2.

Patented Dec. 19,1951

- 2,57 9,181 ENCL ED 'GRAVURETQUN A Harry- W-. -Faeber, La-rchmont, N.I1, assignor to Time, I hmorp r wl xlsnNl X-na sc i lration ofNew. YorkApplication July 28, 1948,- Seria1-No:41;051

" The present invention relates to an enclosed grav-ure fountain,suitable -particu-lar1y in rotary intaglio -printing-machines, having asits novel features a construction designed --=te completely enclosethefountain, one element of which is a fluid pressure *means capable ef-"actin-gupon a-dector iolade"bearingon the peripheral surfaee-of'theprinting cylinder in a manner designed to compensate for the uneven--wear of the-doctor blade. I

in intaglio ;.prihting-, the printing surface has formed indepressionscorresponding to the design to be printed. is --conventionalpractice in-the rotary intaglio printing wart to ;mount a rotatableprinting.- cylinden. the. neripheralssure chines thisreguires immediatei'eplacement of the duster blade to avoid uneven sw ping of t Peripheralsurface .because the i intionfof, a film of printing fluid onthelririntingc surface after it passes the doctor 'iolade would resultatransfer of the fluid 'to the web at plages not'corresponding to the"depressions and would therefore 'eifectiveiy destroy the valueflordesirabilityof the print.

It has alsobeen found thattheprinting fluid inthe fountain tends tochange'in consistency during "the "printingnperation due to theevaporation thereof from the fountain "and to the accumulationthereinofforeign -particles. The latter phenomenon is -'particu1arlyundesirable because the presence of foreign'particles in'the printing*fiuid accelerates ---t-he uneven wearing 'of ahe -doctor "bladeand-results "in a scratching of the --printing surface to such an extentthat the number of copies that cam-be *printed with itbeeomesquitelimited.

- Attempts have been-madein the past to over- :eomes*these difficulties.Thus-tor example, it has been proposed to mount the doctor bladeunderneath a second blade that-does not come {into contact "with the Pinta-glio -printihg surface but serves Jmerely'as .a spring to press thedodtor loladeagainst thatsu-rface. Itlhas also :been suggested to sealthe printing fountain :.-from the outside atmosphere by means of aresiliently mounted sealing blade in .Wiping engagement withitheperipheral surface .-.of the printing cylinder "in :such almannerr-thata given point on the :cylinder successively 1-,comes into .contact with".the doctor blade, the web and 'ilhBiSfiQil? ing '1 blade. Bothsuggestions have :resultedin cumbersome -and complicated 1 designs thathave added to the maintenance. cost of rotarylinr tag lio printing.machines and .neither .of L-then l has .sheen entirely successful. Thesuggested spring nneans for pressing ithe. doctor zblade against .the:printing .'..cylinder is :not suii1ciently flexible 1:170 :comnensatefor the uneven wearing of ithe doc-tor blade and .the sealing imeansthus far proposed have afforded vmerely lanotherline strument capablevof damaging, :by scratching, the intaglio printing surface. :Inpractice, the SOzCflllGd seal ialades, providedlto completelyenclose.the fountain, have ,-been rmoved .ontmrof .wiping engagement {with.the..-cyli-nder :to {avoid scratching.

:EEhe; present invention is concerned with an .e'ifort ato .overcomethese .defects. The doctor tilade, in accordance with vthepresentrinvention, .is provided ,with Jan zoverlying fluid .pressuretube which, shy means of hydraulicror pneumatic pressureis capable ofexerting a uni form pressurealong the entire length .of the :bladeeso;as. to maintain all parts? of the hearing .edgeagainst the peripheral.surfaceof thezprintr ing cylinder despite any uneven wear in thebearing edge. .The fountain is sealedin 'part byaavcomhination. of asealing roll having :an accurately machined. peripheral surface in?roll? ingcontact with .izhe peripheral surface .of :the printing;,cylinder and .a sealing blade in wipingrengagement with. theperipheral surface of the sealing roll and in part .by the doctor blade.

One of (the advantages of the present invention .is that .it .providesan extremely simple structure for automatically compensating for any.uneven wear of the doctor blade ah'd, at thesame time, reducing to aminimum the pos- :sihility of scratching or otherwise "marring thesurface @of the printing cylinder. 1

Another advantage 'of the invention is that it'providesa true-seal forthe fountain and requires aminimum of maintenance.

'These and other advantages, as well as the utility of the invention,will become more apparent from the detailed description that follows Afountain Ill having a bottom H, side walls l2 and i4 and end walls 16and l! serves as a container for the printing fluid [9. A rotaryintaglio printing cylinder 28 is mounted within the fountain l0 and theshaft 2| thereof may bejournaled in the end walls It and I! or inenclosing frame members 22 and 24, as shown in Figure 2. An impressionroll 26 and a back-up roll 21 may be mounted above the printing cylinder20, as shown schematically and by way of example in Figure 1. Theelements thus far described with reference to the drawing areconventional and do not form a part of this in vention.

A carefully machined seal roll 30 having a non-abrasive peripheralsurface is mounted in .the fountain it parallel to, and in rollingcontact with, the printing cylinder 29 and means, such as gears a and30a, are provided to drive the printing cylinder 20 and the seal roll 30at substantially the same peripheral speed. The side l2 of the fountainI0 is provided with a hinged portion 3| carrying a sealing blade. 32 inwiping engagement with the seal roll 3! to complete the sealing of thefountain between the printing cylinder 20 and the side wall l2. Thehinging of the hinged portion 3| is not required but is desirable forpractical purposes, such as to facilitate inspection or filling of theinterior of the fountain Ill and to permit convenient removal of theseal 30 and the cylinder 20.

The track 42 supports a slide 4| connected by means of a link Ma to anoscillating mechanism of conventional type (not shown).

The Standards Mb are carried on the slide 4| to support the shaft 410which may be rotated by means of a hand wheel Md, a worm Me and a wormgear 4| The doctor support arms 40 are keyed to the shaft and the stop40a determines their working position. Each of these arms 40 isprovided, at its upper extremity, with an opening designed to receive aleg 44 of a doctor blade support 46, the position ofsaid supportrelative to the standard being maintained by means of one or more setscrews 41 in the upper portion of the standard 48. A flexible doctorblade is secured to the underside, and a grooved memher or tube holder5| is secured to the upper side, of the support 46 by means of one ormore bolts or tap screws 52. A flexible, fluid pressure tube 54,connected to a source of fluid pressure 51, is positioned between thedoctor blade 50 and the concave portion 5670f the tube holder 5|, thetube 54 and tube holder 5| overlying substantially the entire length ofthe doctor blade 50.

The side i l of the fountain I0 is provided with a hinged portion 60having a sealing blade 6! aflixed thereto which is adapted to engage thebar 59 underneath the doctor blade support 46 to thus effectively sealthe space between the printing roller 2|] and the side wall 14 of thefountain [0. The hinged joint between the portion 50 and the side I4 issealed by a spring blade 60a which is secured to the portion 60 andbears resiliently against the wall [4. V

It is to be understood, of course, that the hinged portion 60 ispivotally mounted on the side wall M, to provide convenient access tothe interior of the fountain and that suitable means may be provided tolock it into the operating position shown.

The end walls l6 and I! of the fountain l0 may suitably be provided withcover plates or lips 10 designed to cover and seal the end portions ofthe fountain. The cylinder 20 is ad ustable .endwise for lateralregister and the cover plates 70 must extend inwardly a sufiicientdistance to overlap the ends of the cylinder 20 in all of its ad ustedportions.

. The gaps at the ends of the doctor blade and the cylinder 20 areclosed by flexible sealing blades ll shown in Figures 1 and 3. A blade His mounted on an angle bracket 12 by means of screws 13 extendingthrough the blade for retaming the blade II in engagement with the lowersurface or the doctor blade to and the end of the cylinder 20. Thebracket I2 is secured to the wall ll of the fountain. A similar sealingblade is mounted in the same way on the wall lti for cooperation withopposite ends of v the doctor blade 50 and the cylinder 20.

which is in operation, the tune s4 is lined with a fluid under pressureso as to exert 'a predetermined hydraulic or pneumatic pressure on thedoctor blade 50 with the result that every portion thereof will bearupon or be in wiping engagement with the peripheral surface of theprinting cylinder 20. The fluid pressure tube, because of its flexiblestructure, will automatically operate to compensate for any uneven wearof the doc: tor blade and maintain the entire length of the wiping orbearing edge in wiping engagement with the peripheral surface of theprinting cylinder and thus make unnecessaryan adjustment or replacementof the doctor blade during the operation of the machine. Furthermore, bycontrolling the amount of fluid pressure in the flexible 131110654, theoperator can effectively control the pressure of the doctor blade 50, asa whole, against the peripheral surface of the printing cylinder 20 soas to obtain a maximum wiping action with a minimum of wear andscratching. The fluid pressure within the tube is COIIBIOliEd by meansof a valve 54a, a bleeder valve 540 and is indicated by a gauge 540.

The fluid pressure means for maintaing the bearing edge of the doctorblade 50 against the peripheral surface of the cylinder 20 has thefurther function, in cooperation with the bar' 59, the seal blade 61 andthe end seal blades H, of providing a substantially air tight cover overthe fountain l0 between the printing cylinder 20 and the side wall I4.

The interposition of a seal roll 30 between the printing cylinder 20 andthe sealing blade 32 effectively avoids a second wiping action on theprinting cylinder and provides a substantially air tight covering overthe fountain ill between the printing cylinder 20 and the side wall l2..The sealing blade 32 has the additional function of removing from theperipheral surface of the seal roll 30 any foreign particles that mayhave become attached thereto and would tend to injure the peripheralsurface of the printing cylinder 20 before the surface of the seal roll30 comes into contact with the printing cylinder 20. v

It is to be understood that many alterations andmodifications willreadily occur to those skilled in the art upon reading the descriptionof this invention.

Thus, for example, it is immaterial whether the shafts for the printingcylinder and the seal roll are journaled in the end walls of thefountain 01' in an enclosing frame. The fluid within the flexible tubemay be a gas or liquid and any suitable means may be employed to controlthe pressure thereof. ing the doctor blade and the elements cooperatingtherewith may be mounted on the frame or on the fountain itself. Themodification illustrated and described specifically is preferred merelybecause it provides an extremely simple way ofobtaining access to thefountain from the side.

The fluid pressure tube may be of substantially uniform cross sectionthroughout its effective length or it may be tapered. It is alsopossible to provide the sealing blade 32 that is in wiping engagementwith the seal roll 30 with a flexible, fluid pressure tube arrangementsimilar to that provided for the doctor blade in order to still moreeffectively wipe the seal roll clean and thus still further minimize thepossibility of scratching the peripheral surface of the printingcylinder.

These are but a few of the many modifications that will readily occur tothose skilled in the art and are intended to be included within thescope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An enclosed gravure fountain comprising a housing having side and endwalls for a printing fluid, a rotatable printing cylinder in the housingparallel to and spaced from said side walls and having configurationsthereon formed by depressions extending below the peripheral surfacethereof, a unitary and flexible doctor blade having a wiping edgebearing on the peripheral surface of the cylinder, an inflatable fluidpressure tube overlying the doctor blade and capable of exertingpressure on said blade to maintain substantially the entire length ofthe wiping edge against the peripheral surface of the cylinder, meansfor supporting said flexible doctor blade and said fluid pressure tube,sealing means for covering the space between said supporting means andone of said side walls, a seal roll parallel to said printing cylinderand in rolling contact with the peripheral surface thereof, said rollbeing disposed between said cylinder and the other of said side walls,means for rotating the printing cylinder and the seal roll atsubstantially the same peripheral speed, a second seal blade be tweensaid other side wall and said seal roll and having a bearing edge inwiping contact with said seal roll, said seal roll and said second sealblade cooperating to cover the space between said cylinder and saidother side wall, and sealing means between the end walls and theadjacent ends of the cylinder and seal roll for sealing gaps at the endsof the cylinder and seal roll.

2. In an enclosed gravure fountain comprising a housing having side andend walls for a printing fluid, a rotatable printing cylinder in thehousing parallel to and spaced from said side The standards for supportwalls and having configurations thereon formed 3 by depressionsextending below the peripheral surface thereof, a unitary and flexibledoctor blade having a wiping edge bearing on the peripheral surface ofthe cylinder, and means for supporting said flexible doctor blade, thecombination of sealing means for covering the space between saidsupporting means and one of said side walls, a seal roll parallel tosaid printing cylinder and in rolling contact with the peripheralsurface thereof, said roll being disposed between said cylinder and theother of said side walls, means for rotating the printing cylinder andthe seal roll at substantially the same peripheral speed, a second sealblade between said other side wall and said seal roll and having abearing edge in wiping contact with said seal roll, said seal roll'andsaid second seal blade cooperating to cover the space between saidcylinder and said other side wall and sealing means on the end walls ofthe housing overlapping the ends of the printing cylinder and the sealroll to cover the spaces between the ends of the cylinder and roll andthe adjacent end walls.

3. In an enclosed gravure fountain comprising a housing having side andend walls for a printing fluid, a rotatable printing cylinder in thehousing parallel to and spaced from said side walls and havingconfigurations thereon formed by depressions extending below theperipheral surface thereof, a unitary and flexible doctor blade having awiping edge bearing on the peripheral surface of the cylinder, and meansfor supporting said flexible doctor blade, the combination of sealingmeans for covering the space between said supporting means and one ofsaid side walls, sealing means on the end walls of said housing engagingsaid doctor blade and the adjacent ends of said cylinder for sealinggaps at the ends of said cylinder, a seal roll parallel to said printingcylinder and in rolling contact with the peripheral surface thereof,said roll being disposed between said cylinder and the other of saidside walls, means for rotating the printing cylinder and the seal rollat substantially the same peripheral speed, and a second seal bladebetween said other side wall and said seal roll and having a bearingedge in wiping contact with said seal roll, said seal roll and saidsecond seal blade cooperating to cover the space between said cylinderand said other side wall.

HARRY W. F'AEBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 511,934 Cottrell Jan. 2, 18941,458,860 Solomon June 1-2, 1923 1,566,358 White Dec. 22, 1925 1,598,819Hill Sept. 7, 1926 1,812,920 Ballard July 7, 1931 1,837,702 CanfieldDec. 22, 1931 2,115,725 Koch May 8, 1938 2,141,978 Greenhill Dec. 27,1938 2,274,166 Roesen Feb. 24, 1942 2,278,138 Paardecamp Mar. 31, 1942FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 699,931 Germany Dec. 10, 1940

